How did you come to this conclusion? Is it the lack of social safety net that opens opportunities? Does the lack of parental leave open up opportunities for mothers to breastfeed? Or having to work multiple jobs open up opportunities to spend time with one’s family and participate in the community?
I'm sorry, but it's not a belief, I've estimated it fairly accurately and you can as well.
Effective tax rate (from my income):
Income Tax:
- 26.72% Federal
- 4.33% Social Security & Medicaid
- 4.95% State
Investments:
- Investments 15-45% (EDIT: on capital gains)
Additional Tax Burden:
- Sales: 10% (of goods purchased)
- Property: 2.35% (of home value)
- Inflation 4% (of wealth maintained)
Then there's all these others fees & excise taxes: licenses, fuel, tolls, alcohol, tobacco, firearms, etc, etc.
Finally, you have import duties on any goods you or any company producing goods for you are importing, typically 0-10%.
You may think tolls are something cheap, but it's $3-5 per toll (I pass 200-500 a year). Licenses for my vehicle(s): $500. Fuel: $0.392 tax per gallon.
Fuel Taxes: https://www2.illinois.gov/rev/research/taxrates/Pages/motorf...
Toll Rates (cars): https://turnpikeinfo.com/toll-calculator.php?road_name=tri-s...
Toll Rates (trucks): https://www.illinoistollway.com/documents/20184/86147/2020+T...
Freight Duties Estimator: https://www.freightos.com/freight-resources/import-duty-calc...
EDIT: Previously said: "on investment revenue"
Why are you calling it investment revenue? Its either income or a capital gain or its stuck inside of a C Corporation and doesn't really have to be paid to you?
You are also adding inflation as a separate line item. Wow.
And on everything else, even Illinois isn't that complicated.
You are being penalized because you aren't paying attention to the market and somehow doing the most inefficient things.
I'm guessing a pass through LLC designated as an S-Corp importing humans from a sanctioned country and making them pay rent in your house after ferrying them up the Mississippi river all the way to Chicago and driving them in your pre-catalytic converter truck to the suburbs. Have you tried SaaS?
Fair, will edit to make capital gains. It's late, tired -_-
> You are also adding inflation as a separate line item. Wow.
Inflation is a separate line item and it's effectively a tax. Since 2000, the dollar has lost >35% of it's value, i.e. you can purchase 35% less. They've also changed the way inflation is calculated in that time, it's likely even higher. As an exercise: If you gave someone land, but every year took x% of it -- they'd call that a tax.
> You are being penalized because you aren't paying attention to the market and somehow doing the most inefficient things.
Not really sure what you mean, if it's regarding taxes, I was pointing out how I could be paying 60%+ in taxes. I know there are rebates, discounts, etc but (A) a lot of people don't know these and (B) when you earn enough that disappears. The general point was 60+% taxes is real.
As it not something you pay to the state, why not add your healthcare premiums while you’re at it.
If you have assets look into charitable contributions. You can donate a portion highly valued illiquid business interests to any charity that will take it and reduce your own taxes for years.
Municipal governments are affected the same as you are.
And the federal government which issues the currency is also mostly adversely affected while marginally helping it (and all borrowers) defer paying off its debt. The additional money in its coffers is from its own creation* and doesnt help it purchase more (for long) as it has the same purchasing power and liquidity in the global market.
Its revenue sources, which are mostly tax these days, are distinctive from inflation.
*us treasury issues USD bonds, fed buys USD bonds from everyone including the us treasury creating new USD at the moment of transaction. Sometimes the US treasury is the recipient, other times the other investors are
It's not a tax on income. It's a tax on past income. If you keep switching jobs and invest your money you shouldn't have to worry about inflation at all except when it's too low.
The reason why it exists is that we don't want old money to dominate the economy, the other reason is that demand for USD is legitimately going up.
I don't think that's the case, the price of dollar against other currencies does not indicate that.
For now it is a non-negligible factor
(I’m not the person you replied to, and they didnt mention other currencies, just adding to the discussion)
How did you come to the alternative conclusion?
Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.
> Is it the lack of social safety net that opens opportunities?
There are a LOT of social safety nets. I pointed out one in my prior comment -- Medicare and Medicaid. I'd argue that's actually the cause of our price increases in medicine, but they do provide effectively free healthcare. I'm not sure how many poor people you know? But I grew up in a poor area, and I can tell you, no one had their primary concern as medical care. No one was worried about food, no one was worried about shelter. I've lived with people who their entire lives have never found or wanted to find a job, they've survived entirely off what the government provided. I know at least ten people (several in my family), who live like this.
> Does the lack of parental leave open up opportunities for mothers to breastfeed?
What type of question is this? You have to choose to be a mother, if you cannot figure it out, you probably shouldn't have children.
> Or having to work multiple jobs open up opportunities to spend time with one’s family and participate in the community?
My entire family has worked multiple jobs at one point or another? For reference, if you work on a farm (as some of my family has) you work every day; usually ten hours. I don't really see the difference here.
That being said, I dont' know what you're saying?
I understand the history of that term, but in this context it seems inhumane. Asking for additional sacrifices from people who are already struggling to afford access to medical care is deeply fucked up. Giving back (to your country/community/world/whatever) should be an ethical obligation, sure, but not one that kicks in when you're still struggling to attain some very basic needs.
Like, I understand your point that safety net programs are available to many (though I don't necessarily agree--food insecurity numbers and medical bankruptcy rates seem like pretty compelling counterpoints). But coming out with "ask what you can do for your country" when talking about a country's least affluent population seems crass and disingenuous.
Why should I expect that hospitals will drop their bill 80-90% after I go in? My expectation is that bill collectors will try to get reimbursed for as much of the bill as they can. This article mentions about half a million went bankrupt in 2019 due to medical bills.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/02/11/thi...
You mention America being a land of opportunity, but now that I’m self employed, I’m looking at places outside of the US to persue entrepreneurship. This is partly due to the sky high medical costs here.
We all have a right to speak. I also suggest you have an open mind as these are topics I've experienced and then further researched. How is it your place? I've shared my experience being poor and what I have seen. I try to share what personal research and experience has taught me.
> Why should I expect that hospitals will drop their bill 80-90% after I go in? My expectation is that bill collectors will try to get reimbursed for as much of the bill as they can. This article mentions about half a million went bankrupt in 2019 due to medical bills.
I used to work at a medical billing service, they managed tens of millions in monthly billing (with millions of accounts annually). I personally used to reduce bills for hospitals by 80-90%, typically for hundreds of people a day (I was one of many). If you speak with a hospital and are below a certain income, they will reduce your bill. It's subsidized by those with insurance, hence the high medical costs nationally. Typically, insurance is paying 3-20x the medical procedure cost; medicare/medicaid pays around 20-50% of what insurance will pay.
> You mention America being a land of opportunity, but now that I’m self employed, I’m looking at places outside of the US to persue entrepreneurship. This is partly due to the sky high medical costs here.
I mean, do what suits you. But I find this interesting, I spend ~$9k a year for some really great health insurance (my family included in this), with potentially $5k out of pocket. I can also tune it (unlike taxes) and could really only spend $1-2k a year with a potential for $20k out of pocket. I did that for many years, because I was healthier.
Currently, I receive far better treatment than the nationalized healthcare in the EU for instance (particularly the UK or Ireland, where I was considering moving). I also have the potential to make 5x what I would for my profession in the EU. That more than makes up for the differential.
I was pleading that you stop representing you know what poor people worry about on the basis of knowing at least 10 poor people. I don’t think you or I should speak on poor folks behalf. I never claimed to know what their worries are. Your opinions are your own, but I think it’s important to not take a chance and misrepresent people, especially when the stakes are high like with health care.
> I used to work at a medical billing service, they managed tens of millions in monthly billing (with millions of accounts annually).
I need to know the odds that the hospital that I happen to be around when I need treatment will reduce my bill by 80-90%. It’s not enough to know what your billing center was doing.
> I spend ~$9k a year for some really great health insurance (my family included in this), with potentially $5k out of pocket.
The cheapest quote I received from FL ACA marketplace is $12k a year for two people on a bronze plan and a potential $15k deductible. I view these plans as next to worthless aside from keeping me from immediate bankruptcy jeopardy.
I can live in Central America or India for less and be treated better by the locals in all likelihood. It doesn’t matter where I live in terms of my income potential.
How do we know that your personal anecdote can be extended to all hospitals in the US?
Ok, no more children. Honestly, haven't you though about why it is not economical to have children? Isn't it absurd that children drag their parents down even though they are going to be future tax payers?
>I've lived with people who their entire lives have never found or wanted to find a job, they've survived entirely off what the government provided. I know at least ten people (several in my family), who live like this.
It's better that way. Their children will do better.
Every time I've been in that category, it's been my #1 concern. Medical bills are also the #1 reason for bankruptcies in the United States.
> hospitals will drop 80-90% of your bill if you're over that, etc. etc.
My experience is... different. Not only are adjustments more modest, not only are they harder to get than you're implying in the first place, I've found that hospitals will hound you for a $100 copay they think they didn't receive because when you paid it they accidentally credited it to the wrong account (glad I could dig up the receipt).
There's things to value about America's enterprising spirit and some of its policies, but health care is pretty far from it. Overall it's a drag on the rest of the economy, and the incentives are wrong for there to be private solutions.
So, real experience for me in priorities have always been:
1. Food
2. Shelter
3. Clothes
4. Transportation
5. Employment / Income
6. Healthcare
You’re correct bankruptcy is an option and I know of multiple people who’ve done it for medical reasons. Honestly; it didn’t seem to impact them, as much as I suspected, but I didn’t see their internal finances. I do know they restructured and paid some and got on a plan to pay the rest. The first five on my list aren’t impacted by bankruptcy (typically) due to healthcare issues. That’s why I think a lot of people are okay taking the hit.
But I think you bring up the key question which is “drag on the system”. There’s a reason our system is so expensive and it’s regulation and litigation from that regulation. Why do they limit the number of doctors graduating medical schools? Or zone hospitals such that all are profitable? Or have Medicare pay a fraction of what the private health insurance pays (increasing premiums for those with insurance?)? There’s a ton of systemic issues and it’s almost entirely from well meaning laws turning into a hellscape of rules. Bankruptcies are accounted for in the lending rates of banks, so that’s also impacted.
Finally, I recommend asking the hospital for charge codes and looking up what Medicare will pay, pay that. It’s basically 20-50% of what your bill will be.
If you're facing risk or serious insecurity to any one of these, consider that health issues (especially those insurance matters for) often (a) produce costs that are higher to nigh-unbounded (b) may well present as issues that are upstream of all of these things ("Tell me, Mr. Anderson, what good is a phone call/job/meal when you are unable to speak/work/keep food down?"). #1-5 may be more foundational in some kind of pyramid of needs than mild health concerns, but serious health care concerns are equal-to-more foundational. Also, #1-5 are also more easily provided by friends and family or community charity on an episodic basis.
> Honestly; it didn’t seem to impact them, as much as I suspected, but I didn’t see their internal finances.
A merely low credit score has substantial financial impacts and will cut you off from some possibilities outright. A bankruptcy will close more doors. It's less an "option" than a salvage operation.
> There’s a reason our system is so expensive and it’s regulation and litigation from that regulation
Specific regulations sometimes do introduce compliance costs, and like code, can often be reviewed for optimization. But criticizing "regulation" in abstract is like criticizing code in abstract. And litigation is how legal accountability happens.
Additionally, more heavily "regulated" systems than ours control expenses better, so it seems unlikely that's necessarily the source, and there's other explanations available in incentive analysis.
> Why do they limit the number of doctors graduating medical schools?
Ask the AMA. I expect part of it is incentives, though... how many more doctors do you think could be reasonably graduated?
> I recommend asking the hospital for charge codes
I've actually asked hospitals for charge masters before, even ahead of time. Answers ranged from "I'm not sure what that is" to "we don't do that." That was pre-ACA, so perhaps things have changed, but if so, it's thanks to regulation.
Socioeconomic mobility in the US is amongst the lowest of developed countries.
If a lack of static classes is what makes a country great, then can we assume that a great many other developed countries with much more socioeconomic mobility are greater?
If what makes America great is all these opportunities, as you say, then something must have gone very wrong since so few people are using these opportunities to move up.
The majority of people don't want to move to America. This is simple math. There are about 7 billion people on Earth. 300 million are already in America. Approximately an additional million people move to America every year legally, and some number enter illegally. Even if twice as many people enter illegally, that's only 3 million people, which is just 0.045% of the people on Earth.
Many Americans believe that everyone is desperate to leave where they live and move to the USA and chase the American Dream. This belief is wrong.
I don’t follow the jump from that to “people must work in a grueling fashion just to survive unless they’re lucky”. That is inhumane, and what makes America’s form of capitalism especially sinister. Have some damn compassion.
For some US' citizens, there may as well be no healthcare, as they're not willing to take on the burden of medical debt. They could technically access it, but not without changing the course of their life for the worse forever. That's not an issue for citizens in most developed nations.
There are countries far far lower on the economic leaderboard than the US who do provide reasonable access to healthcare for their citizens, and of course the majority of developed nations do as well. The US is behind, and it's not because of increased opportunity.
(I'm not the one downvoting you by the way, I don't mind the conversation)
Please do not make misleading statements such as that it's accessible to a very few.
https://austingwalters.com/stagflation-is-here-monetary-infl...
The reality is that they're being paid to stay home. A lot of people (myself included) would have loved the opportunity to take one of those $12/hr greeting jobs when I was 16. Instead, I managed to get $9/hr setting up a companies internal network.
You're correct, this is America. You can work hard and build something. America is intentionally setup NOT to give you anything, but to make as many opportunities as possible open to you. That's why people brave deserts to come here.
There aren't any static classes (although the education system is quickly becoming one), that's what makes america great. Honestly, health care isn't what most of the poor care most about (having been there, it is a concern, just not #1); medicaid and medicare cover you if you're poor enough, hospitals will drop 80-90% of your bill if you're over that, etc. etc.